Cutting stick spacer

ABSTRACT

Spacer means for the cutting stick of a paper cutting machine to permit periodic lateral adjustment of the stick relative to the plane of the cutting blade so as to locate different face portions of the stick in position for contact by the blade and thereby extend the useful life of the stick. The spacer means includes two or three spacer bars which are positionable between the cutting stick and the walls of the cutting stick channel in the bed of the cutting machine and are so dimensioned that reversing the position of the side spacer bar or bars shifts the stick laterally in the channel. The bottom spacer bar may be integrally joined to one side spacer bar to form a unitary Lshaped spacer member.

United States Patent [151 3,695,136 Home [451 Oct. 3, 1972 [54] CUTTINGSTICK SPACER 72 Inventor: Richard J. Home, 13908 BarrydaleExamifleronald Kelly St., La Puente, Calif. 91746 Attorney-80mm Brown221 Filed: 0ct.16,1970 ABSTRACT Appl. No.: 81,390

Spacer means for the cutting stick of a paper cutting machine to permitperiodic lateral adjustment of the stick relative to the plane of thecutting blade so as to locate different face portions of the stick inposition for contact by the blade and thereby extend the useful life ofthe stick. The spacer means includes two or three spacer bars which arepositionable between the cutting stick and the walls of the cuttingstick channel in the bed of the cutting machine and are so dimensionedthat reversing the position of the side spacer bar or bars shifts thestick laterally in the channel. The bottom spacer bar may be integrallyjoined to one side spacer bar to form a unitary L-shaped spacer member.

10 Claims, 12 Drawing figures CUTTING STICK SPACER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally topaper cutting machines and more particularly to spacer means for thecutting stick of such machines which permits lateral adjustment of thestick to locate different portions of its faces for contact by thecutting blade.

Discussion of the Prior Art Paper cutting machines of the kind withwhich the present invention is concerned have a cutting blade whichmoves toward and away from a frame bed for supporting the paper stack tobe cut. The paper stack is positioned relative to the cutting blade by areciprocating positioning mechanism. Within the bed, in the plane of thecutting blade, is an upwardly opening channel of square cross-sectioncontaining a plastic bar of square cross-section against which thecutting edge of the blade engages at the end of its cutting stroke. Thisbar is referred to in the trade as a cutting stick.

Repeated contact of the cutting blade with the cutting stick produces agroove in the stick. This grooving action necessitates periodic shiftingof the cutting stick to expose a new ungrooved face portion of the stickto the cutting blade. For example, the stick may be rotated on itslongitudinal axis to expose different faces of the stick to the blade.Also, the longitudinal center line of the cutting stick channel in thebed of the cutting machine is laterally offset from the plane of thecutting blade to permit two different portions of each stick face to beexposed to the blade by reversing the stick end for end. Shifting thecutting stick in this way is desirable, of course, because it extendsthe useful life of the stick.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a spacer meansfora cutting stick of the character described which permits exposure ofadditional face portions of the stick to the cutting blade and therebyfurther extendsthe service life of the stick.

Generally stated, the present spacer means comprises at least two spacerbars which seat against two adjacent faces of a cutting stick having asquare crosssection smaller than that of the cutting stick channel inthe bed of the paper cutting machine. These spacer bars have a thicknessapproximating the difference in the cross-sectional dimensions of thecutting stick and channel, such that the cutting stick and spacerassembly has an overall square cross-section matching that of thechannel. The assembly is positioned within the channel with the spacerbars located between the stick and the bottom and one side wall of thechannel. The spacer bars may be separable or integrally joined to form aunitary L-shaped spacer member.

Another disclosed embodiment has two parallel spacer bars and a thirdintervening spacer bar. In this case the two parallel bars havedifferent thickness dimensions and a combined thickness dimensionapproximating the difference in the cross-sectional dimensions of thecutting stick and its receiving channel. The third spacer bar has athickness dimension equal to this combined thickness dimension, suchthat cutting stick and spacer assembly have a square crosssectionmatching the channel and thus may be positioned in the channel. The barsmay be separable or two bars may be joined to form a unitary L-shapedspacer member.

In each form of the invention, the cutting stick is repositioned orshifted laterally to expose a new face portion tothe cutting blade byreversing the position of the side spacer bars; This adjustment combinedwith the other stick adjustments mentioned earlier, i.e., rotation toexpose anew face of the cutting stick and inverting the stick end forend, permits use of four different portions of each stick face andthereby doubles the service life of the cutting stick.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation ofaconventional paper cutting machine; I

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the machine illustrating thecutting stick, cutting stick channel, and a present stick spacer;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4-8 are enlarged sections through the cutting stick and spacerillustrating the possible stick adjustments;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are sections through a modified cutting stick and spacermeans according to the invention;

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate further modified cutting stick spacer meansaccording to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The paper cutting machine 10illustrated in FIGS. l-3 is conventional, except for the present cuttingstick and spacer assembly 12, and includes a horizontal platform or bed14 on which is placed the stack of paper 16 to be cut. Mounted over thebed for movement toward and away from the bed in a plane normal to thebed, i.e., a vertical plane, is a cutting blade 18. Movable horizontallyacross the bed toward and away from the cutting blade plane is a stackpositioning mechanism 20.

In operation of the machine, a paper stack 16 is placed on the bed 14and is positioned relative to the cutting blade 18 by the stackpositioning mechanism 20. The blade then descends through its cuttingstroke to cut the stack, as shown in FIG. 3, and retracts upwardly toreceive a new paper stack.

Contained within the machine bed 14 is an upwardly opening channel 22 ofsquare cross-section. The plane of the cutting blade 18 passes throughthe channel in parallel laterally spaced relation to its longitudinalcenter line. Channel 22 contains the present cutting stick and spacerassembly 12.

This assembly comprises a cutting stick 24 proper and a stick spacer 26.Cutting stick 24 is a plastic bar of square cross-section and may besolid as shown or hollow. The cross-sectional dimensions of the cuttingstick are less than those of the channel 22. The particular cuttingstick spacer 26 shown in FIGS. l-8 has a pair of spacer bars 28integrally joined to one another to form a unitary L-shaped spacermember. The width dimensions of the spacer bars 28 measured at the innerside of the angle equal the cross-sectional dimensions of the cuttingstick 24. The spacer 26 is assembled on the cutting stick 24 with thespacer bars 28 seating against two adjacent faces of the stick, asshown.

The two spacer bars 28 have equal thickness dimensions. This thicknessdimension approximates the difference in the cross-sectional dimensionsof the channel 22 and cutting stick 24. Accordingly, the cutting stickand spacer assembly 12 has a square cross-section matching that of thechannel and is positionable in the channel in the manner shown. When theassembly is thus positioned in the channel, the spacer bars 28 arelocated between the cutting stick and the side and bottom walls of thechannel. One face of the cutting stick is exposed at the top of thechannel for contact by the cutting blade 18 at the end of its cuttingstroke in the manner shown in FIGS. 3-8. This exposed face and the upperexposed edge of the side spacer bar 28 are flush with the upper surfaceof the machine bed 14.

As noted earlier and illustrated in the drawings, repeated contact ofthe cutting blade 18 with the same face portion of the cutting stick 24produces a groove 30 in the face. Accordingly, it is necessary toperiodically adjust the stick to expose a new face portion to thecutting blade. Two of these adjustments were mentioned earlier. Thesetwo adjustments involve rotating the cutting stick on its longitudinalaxis to expose a new face of the stick to the blade and inverting thestick end for end. The present spacer 26 provides an additionaladjustment which involves reversing the spacer to move the side spacerbar 28 from one side of the cutting stick 24 to the other in the mannerillustrated in F IGS. 4-8. It is evident from FIGS. 4-8 that this lattercutting stick adjustment when combined with the first mentioned stickadjustment permits four different portions of each stick face to beexposed to the cutting blade 18, thereby effectively doubling theservice life of the cutting stick.

The modified cutting stick spacer means 26a, 26b of FIGS. 9 and 10 issimilar to that of FIGS. l-8. In FIGS. 9 and 10, however, the spacerbars 28a, 28b are separable rather than joined. These spacer bars may bedimensioned to mate in either the configuration of FIG. 9 or that ofFIG. 10. This modified spacer means is used in much the same manner asthat of FIGS. 1-8 except that only the side spacer bar is moved, asindicated in broken lines, when adjusting the cutting stick.

The modified cutting stick spacer means 100, 102 of FIGS. 11 and 12comprise L-shaped spacer members 26c, 26d similar to the spacer 26 andthird spacer bars 104, 106. The side spacer bars 28c, 104 and bars 28d,106 have different thickness dimensions, and the combined thicknessdimension of bars 28c, 104 and bars 28d, 106 equals the difference inthe cross-sectional dimensions of the cutting stick 24 and channel 22.The thickness dimension of the bottom spacer bar also equals this latterdimensioned difference. The L- shaped space members 26c, 26d and spacerbars 104, 106 may be assembled in the configuration of either FIG. 11 or12. It is evident that each cutting stick and spacer assembly has anoverall square cross-section matching that of the channel 22.

The spacer means of FIGS. 11 and 12 are used in much the same way as theearlier described spacer means except that when adjusting the cuttingstick, the L-shaped spacer members 26c, 26d and side spacer bars areboth moved to reverse the positions of the side spacer bars. It will beimmediately recognized that the spacers of FIGS. 11 and 12 may be usedin conjunction with the earlier spacers to expose additional cuttingstick face portions to the cutting blade 18 and thereby further extendthe service life of the cutting stick.

What is claimed asnew in support of Letters Patent 1. For use in a papercutting machine having a bed containing an upwardly opening channel ofsquare cross-section, and a cutting blade movable toward and away fromsaid bed in a plane normal to the bed and passing through said channelparallel to its longitudinal axis, the combination comprising:

a cutting stick of square cross-section having side faces of givenwidth,

spacer means including first and second flat bars seating against twoadjacent faces of said stick, and

said first bar having a width not greater than said given width of eachstick face, and said spacer means and stick having an overall squarecrosssection and being positionable within said channel with said firstspacer bar located between the bottom face of the stick and the bottomwall of said channel and said second spacer bar located between a sideface of the stick and adjacent edge of said first bar and the adjacentside wall of said channel.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein:

said first bar has a width equal to said given width and said second barhas a width equal to said given width plus the thickness of said firstbar.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein:

said bars are of equal thickness dimensions and are separable flatstrips.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein:

said second spacer bar is a relatively thin fiat strip having a smallerthickness than said first bar,

said spacer means includes a third spacer bar parallel to said secondbar and engaging the stick face which parallels the stick face engagedby said second bar, and

said second and third bars have different thickness dimensions and acombined thickness dimension equal to the thickness of said first bar.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein:

said first and third bars are integrally joined to form a unitaryL-shaped spacer member.

6. In combination:

a paper cutting machine having a bed with an upwardly opening channel ofsquare cross-section and a cutting stick of square cross-section withinand smaller than the channel and having side faces of given width,

spacer means positioned between said stick and walls of said channel andproviding with said stick a square cross-section complementing saidchannel, and

said spacer means including a first bar positioned between the bottomface of said stick and having a width not greater than said given widthof each stick face, and a second bar positioned between one side of saidstick and adjacent edge of said first bar and the adjacent side wall ofsaid channel.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein:

to said second bar and engaging the stick face which parallels the stickface engaged by said second bar, and

said second and third bars have different thickness dimensions and acombined thickness dimension equal to the thickness of said first bar.

10. The combination according to claim 9 wherein:

said first and third bars are integrally joined to form a unitaryL-shaped spacer member.

1. For use in a paper cutting machine having a bed containing anupwardly opening channel of square cross-section, and a cutting blademovable toward and away from said bed in a plane normal to the bed andpassing through said channel parallel to its longitudinal axis, thecombination comprising: a cutting stick of square cross-section havingside faces of given width, spacer means including first and second flatbars seating against two adjacent faces of said stick, and said firstbar having a width not greater than said given width of each stick face,and said spacer means and stick having an overall square cross-sectionand being positionable within said channel with said first spacer barlocated between the bottom face of the stick and the bottom wall of saidchannel and said second spacer bar located between a side face of thestick and adjacent edge of said first bar and the adjacent side wall ofsaid channel.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein: saidfirst bar has a width equal to said given width and said second bar hasa width equal to said given width plus the thickness of said first bar.3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein: said bars are of equalthickness dimensions and are separable flat strips.
 4. The combinationaccording to claim 1 wherein: said second spacer bar is a relativelythin flat strip having a smaller thickness than said first bar, saidspacer means includes a third spacer bar parallel to said second bar andengaging the stick face which parallels the stick face engaged by saidsecond bar, and said second and third bars have different thicknessdimensions and a combined thickness dimension equal to the thickness ofsaid first bar.
 5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein: saidfirst and third bars are integrally joined to form a unitary L-shapedspacer member.
 6. In combination: a paper cutting machine having a bedwith an upwardly opening channel of square cross-section and a cuttingstick of square cross-section within and smaller than the channel andhaving side faces of given width, spacer means positioned between saidstick and walls of said channel and providing with said stick a squarecross-section complementing said channel, and said spacer meansincluding a first bar positioned between the bottom face of said stickand having a width not greater than said given width of each stick face,and a second bar positioned between one side of said stick and adjacentedge of said first bar and the adjacent side wall of said channel. 7.The combination according to claim 6 wherein: said first bar has a widthequal to said given width and said second bar has a width equal to saidgiven width plus the thickness of said first bar.
 8. The combinationaccording to claim 7 wherein: said bars are of equal thicknessdimensions and are separable flat strips.
 9. The combination accordingto claim 6 wherein: said second spacer bar is a relatively thin flatstrip having a smaller thickness than said first bar, said spacer meansincludes a third spacer bar parallel to said second bar and engaging thestick face which parallels the stick face engaged by said second bar,and said second and third bars have different thickness dimensions and acombined thickness dimension equal to the thickness of said first bar.10. The combination according to claim 9 wherein: said first and thirdbars are integrally joined to form a unitary L-shaped spacer member.